enlarge Tim Greenway/Staff Photographer

Election worker Gerry Murray hands a ballot to Dave Christiansen at a polling station at the Boys and Girls Club in South Portland on Tuesday. A heavy turnout delayed results.

South Portland residents elected Rosemarie Deangelis to serve again as the city councilor representing District 3.

Results late Tuesday night indicated that Deangelis won the seat with 4,009 votes, over challengers Christopher Kessler, who got 3,008 votes, and Gary Crosby, who got 2,635 votes.

Deangelis served on the council for three years. She said she decided to run again because she feels that residents aren’t being heard.

She said she has the skills, knowledge and experience in city government to be a good representative for residents.

Also on the ballot was Councilor Maxine Beecher, who represents District 4 and ran uncontested.

Beecher said she was recently appointed to serve on the city’s comprehensive plan committee. “It’s absolutely vital to the city,” Beecher said. “It’s the tone and direction we need to take and it’s time for us to update it. I’m looking forward to the challenge.”

Heavy voter turnout caused ward clerks to run out of city ballots Tuesday at each of the four polling places.

Of the 18,348 registered voters, 63.2 percent cast ballots. Clerks made copies of the municipal ballot and hand-counted them.

“We didn’t anticipate this many voters,” said Jennifer Scholz, the city’s licensing administrator.

James Gilboy won his third term on the Board of Education representing District 4. Gilboy got 4,294 votes, while his challenger, Kendall Fassett, received 3,786 votes.

During the campaign, Gilboy said the biggest issue facing the school district is the need for renovations to the high school and two middle schools.

Alan Livingston narrowly beat challenger Tappan Fitzgerald for the District 5 seat on the school board. Livingston got 4,166 votes over Fitzgerald, who received 4,152 votes.

During his campaign, Livingston said the high school renovation will be one of the biggest challenges the school board will face.

Voters chose Michael Eastman, who died in September, for the District 3 seat. He received 7,287 votes. The school board will appoint someone to fill his seat.

Residents also voted 6,841 to 3,373 in favor of amending the city charter to let the city issue bonds through an easier process, with a two-thirds vote by the City Council.

The charter had said that the city can borrow money by putting bonds out to bid through an advertising process.

“The idea is to get the best interest rate and lowest cost for borrowing money,” Councilor Tom Coward said Tuesday night. “It (will) be very helpful for us to access federal stimulus money.”

Staff Writer Melanie Creamer can be contacted at 791-6361 or at: mcreamer@pressherald.com